I’ll be honest, I didn’t know Waluigi was so popular. A lot of people were really upset about him being excluded from the new Super Smash Brothers! Sure, he’s a bizarre villainous character, but I kind of get why Nintendo didn’t think he was so significant.

At a standard glance, Waluigi seems to be the opposite of Waluigi. Introduced as a side-kick to Wario, one of Mario’s rivals. With his crooked mustache and angry sneer, he holds all the trademarks of a typical villain. He’s clearly wicked and the opposite of Luigi. But some fans of Nintendo feel he is a lot more than that. Some feel he represents a lot more than just Luigi or a villain to Mario. Some feel like he is a lot closer or a lot more distant to the other characters than the games want to tell us. Some think that the resistance to the character goes a lot deeper into Nintendo.

What’s pretty great about Waluigi is that he doesn’t play a big role in the Mario games. Nintendo doesn’t seem to want to confirm any of these fan theories or say a lot about them. But that’s a good thing- with none of these confirmed we can take whichever ones we like as true. It’s also pretty great that, if Waluigi is an uninspired, unoriginal character from Nintendo, it’s awesome that fans want to fill in the gaps themselves. If Nintendo isn’t going to give us some backstory on Waluigi- let’s see what the fans have come up with!

25 Waluigi Is Luigi’s Twin

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We know that Wario and Waluigi are supposed to be the opposites of Mario and Luigi, but some fans think that they are closer than that.

Some have noticed similarities to Luigi and Waluigi. They’re both tall, slim, and blue-eyed.

This doesn’t necessarily make them twins. Waluigi is taller and they both have very different noses. But they do look a lot more similar than Wario does to Mario. Perhaps all four are related. But I don’t want to hear the sad story of how they all became rivals. Sometimes sibling rivalries go too far.

24 Waluigi Makes His Own Clothes

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A Tumblr user pointed out after Nintendo released high resolution renders of the characters clothes, that Mario and Luigi’s clothes are made from different materials than Wario and Waluigi’s. Mario and Luigi’s patches are sewn on their hats, while Wario and Waluigi’s are glued on and are slightly raised. Waluigi’s clothes look lower quality than the others. His “L” is stuck on upside down! So maybe Waluigi makes his and Wario’s clothes but can’t spend as much time on his own.

23 Waluigi Is Incredibly Rich

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If Waluigi is making his own clothes out of felt and gluing things upside down to his hats, he probably isn’t incredibly rich, but perhaps he just doesn’t like to spend his money on clothes!

This theory comes from Waluigi being the opposite of Luigi.

Luigi owns an aging, run-down old mansion, filled with ghosts. So maybe Waluigi has a glamorous, beautiful, modern house. Presumably with no ghosts! Of course, another explanation could be that, as Luigi owns a huge mansion, Waluigi has a small apartment. But maybe it’s a really nice apartment!

22 Shigeru Miyamoto Hates Waluigi

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Despite having a substantial fan base able to come up with funny fan theories and brilliant fan art, Waluigi has never appeared in a main Mario game. He appears only as a partner for Wario in sports and racing. Some fans now believe that Miyamoto hates Waluigi and is jealous that he didn’t create such a successful character!

To make matters more interesting, Miyamoto has avoided discussing the matter. He has said that Daisy and Wario don’t appear in mini-games because they are illustrated differently. Apparently being different is too much!

via: mk513.deviantart.com

I know, these guys don’t look much like one another. Or act like each other. Or have anything in common. But come on, hear it me out!

This theory starts from Waluigi and Daisy being similarly ranked characters.

Daisy is just a partner for Peach and Waluigi is just a partner to Wario. They have the same reasons for their creations, so perhaps that means they are from the same fictional family line. They’re also both good at sports and have the same color hair!

20 Waluigi Is “Nabbit”

via: watchusplaygames.wordpress.com

Nabbit is an annoying antagonist of New Super Mario Bros. U and a playable character in New Super Luigi U. He’s a bit creepy looking and runs around robbing toad people’s houses. But we don’t know much about the character, other than that he’s creepy looking and annoying!

Some fans have theorized that he’s actually Waluigi since the two have a similar color scheme.

The Nabbit wears purple and Waluigi wears purple. I can’t support this theory too much, but if you believe it I can’t stop you!

19 Waluigi Is In Love With Daisy

via: greendayluigi.deviantart.com

Maybe Waluigi is a relative of Daisy, or maybe he’s hiding secret feelings for her? Many fans have asked why Wario and Waluigi don’t have love interests. If nothing else there could be Peach or Daisy opposites to fight them, which could lead to a whole new game series. But perhaps Waluigi would prefer Daisy as a love interest.

In the official Mario Party 4 Prima Guide, its mentioned that Waluigi has a crush on Daisy. She, however, doesn’t return his affections. But that doesn’t stop some fans from shipping them together! Maybe in time, she’ll come around.

18 Waluigi Is Representative Of The Reflection Of Man

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It’s about time we got a little deep. It seems a little farfetched to look for deep philosophies, but that’s exactly what Frank Ribery proposes in Critical Perspectives on Waluigi.

“Waluigi’s identity only comes from what and who he isn’t – without a wider frame of reference, he is nothing. He is not his own man. In a world where our identities are shaped by our warped relationships to brands and commerce we are all Waluigi.”

Perhaps as a character developed to be a companion to one and a rival of another, we all know how it feels to be Waluigi. Are you sure you don’t want him in Smash Bros., Nintendo?

17 Waluigi Is A Retired Dancer

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Characters in Mario games can have rather random careers; as far as I know, Mario has never been called out to do any plumbing on the way to rescue Princess Peach. But what if Waluigi had a successful career as a dancer before committing to his villainous ways.

His reputation as a dancer comes from his long limbs and nimble movements.

His dancing skills come out during his golf celebrations and him being the central villain in Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix. As dancing careers are painfully short, it’s been suggested the Waluigi had a successful career as a dancer but has now retired.

16 Waluigi Is Luigi From The Future

via deviantart.com/tekoyo

We’ve already discussed how the two of them look a little similar, even though there are some significant differences. But what if they are even closer than brothers?

Lots of terrible things have happened to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Despite Luigi being the cowardly brother, perhaps he volunteered to go back in time and sabotage Wario to save the Kingdom. Knowing he couldn’t be Luigi, he disguised himself as Waluigi. Since we’ve seen Baby Mario and Baby Luigi appear in the same games as normal Mario and Luigi, it’s not beyond possibility that future Luigi could be appearing in games.

15 The Mario Gang Hang Out With Him For His Motor Company

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Waluigi doesn’t get to hang out with the gang that often. He’s never invited to the big events, only when they’re playing sports or racing karts. The rest of the “gang” obviously don’t have strong feelings towards him, except perhaps Mario.

It’s thought by some that the reason they hang out with him is that he owns a big motor racing company, from which the gang were able to get all their carts and build all their tracks. In Double Dash, the Waluigi Stadium is already a race track, whereas most other levels are areas made into race tracks.

14 Waluigi Has A Disorder

via forum.facepunch.com

On several occasions, fans have noted the character's sadness. Waluigi allows Wario to call him an idiot in Wario’s Warehouse, despite the character being more intelligent than Wario. Charles Martinet, the voice actor for Waluigi has said that “self-pity” is a “cornerstone of Waluigi’s character.”

Evidence that he might be bipolar comes from his excessive mood swings in games. He also takes winning and losing incredibly seriously. He gives extreme celebrations when he wins and breaks down when he loses. (Mind you, most characters are brought to tears by losing a race. Come on guys, it’s just fun!)

13 Waluigi Is A Manifestation Of Luigi’s PTSD

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We’re going forward on the path of “Waluigi isn’t even a real character!” Luigi is a bit of a mess. He’s incredibly cowardly and becomes easily skittish. Some fans have theorized that Luigi has PTSD, either a result of his adventures in his mansion, or from an earlier trauma.

Going forward with his theory, it’s been suggested that Waluigi is a result of that trauma.

His movements are creepy, almost spider-like, and his voice cackles the memories in Luigi’s ear making sure he’ll never forget.

12 He Only Exists When Luigi Thinks Of Him

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If Waluigi is just a manifestation of trauma, it makes sense that he could only appear when the sufferer thought of him. It would explain why we haven’t had our Waluigi centred game yet and why Waluigi doesn’t appear in every game. He only appears when Luigi makes him appear.

It doesn’t make a lot of sense given that other characters interact with Waluigi. As we’ve mentioned, he’s interacted with Daisy a few times and has appeared as Wario’s partner in several games. But maybe all of this is also in Luigi’s mind!

Artwork by Ratchet Mario

11 Waluigi Is Slender Man

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I’ve always found Slender Man to be rather misunderstood. He never looks too dangerous and seems to just look creepy, rather than do anything creepy. He probably just wants a friend and a hug! Especially if he is Waluigi!

This theory is proposed in a Medium article.

The writer observes that both characters are tall and slender (which is a very obvious yet not really conclusive point). Both were also described as “creeps who love children’s games.” I wouldn’t really describe either of them as creeps! Maybe they’re both just in search of friends and hugs!

10 Waluigi Can Control Water

via deviantart.com/zefrenchm

Some people are really insistent about this, but I’m not sure I fully understand this fan theory. The theory goes that both Mario and Luigi have control over the elements on occasion, such as “Fire Mario,” who has the power to throw fireballs or “Ice Mario,” combining the elements of water and ice. Therefore, it makes sense that Wario and Waluigi would also have elemental powers.

Waluigi can control water because he is a good swimmer. But that’s probably due to those great legs we’ve already mentioned, and Mario gets his powers from certain flowers.

9 He Is A Spy For Mario

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This theory slips its way into several other theories we’ve already mentioned, such as Waluigi being Luigi’s twin, or being a time-traveling Luigi. But what if Waluigi is, in fact, Waluigi, but still a companion of Mario.

For starters, Wario is a pun on Mario, “W” being an upside down “M.” But Waluigi is just Luigi with “Wa” in front of it. Also, his uniform, as mentioned, is rather crudely made. Rather than being devoted to Wario, Waluigi reports his plans to Mario who then stops them. Wario doesn’t suspect a thing!

8 Waluigi Is Repeatedly Annoyed By Wario

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Perhaps the idea that Waluigi is really working for Wario comes from the idea that he can’t possibly be working for Wario. After all, we know that he doesn’t treat his long-legged companion very well!

As mentioned before, Wario has in the past called Waluigi an idiot, despite him being described as a genius by other sources. This is a clear example of emotional trauma! Given the villain's inability to control his temper, it’s unfortunately not unimaginable that he’d take it out on his partner. It’s clear that Wario needs Waluigi a lot more than he needs him!

7 Waluigi Is Wario’s Brother

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So, if Waluigi is mistreated by Wario, there would have to be a significant connection for him to stick around, right?

For a long time, I thought it was a given that these two were brothers.

After all, Luigi and Mario are brothers. So, wouldn’t their rivals be? Despite having drastically different body shapes, the two have similar facial features, in the same way, Mario and Luigi do. They’re also referred to as “Wicked Bros” in Mario Party 5. However, creators have since stated that the two are not related. (Not that that’s stopped fans before.)

6 He Is A Former Luigi Fan

via: wattpad.com

This theory actually suggests that Waluigi is the villain he is portrayed as... but he might have a good reason. A long time ago, he was a really big fan of Luigi. Maybe Waluigi is also a younger brother and knows how it feels to always be in your big brother's shadow. He collected pictures of Luigi and collected his merch.

Then one day Luigi didn’t reply to fan mail, maybe. He did something to turn his superfan against him. Waluigi then joined Wario to become the anti-Luigi!